Necktie-fastener



UNITiDA STATES ATENT rms ISAAC I-I. MALLIN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

NECKTlE-FASTENER.

I SPECIFICATION forming'partI of Letters Patent No.V 603,236, dated April 26, 1898.

Application fled Sept-.einherv 27, 1895. Serial No. 563,820. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ISAAC H. MALLIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Necktie-Fasteners,'of which the following is a full, clear, and exact speci- Iication.

My invention relates to improvements in that class of 'necktie-fasteners designed to prevent the band of the tie from riding up over the collar in the back. A device of this nature when in use, being necessarily at a point where it cannot be seen by the user, must, to be of any practical utility, be eX- ceedingly simple of construction and operaltion, requiring but the minimum number of simple movements to effect its proper attachment and adjustment to the collar-button, and also be of such a nature as to be capable of manipulation solely through the sense of touch.

One of the objects of my invention, therefore, is to restrict the device to a single movement (after being applied over the collar-button or other fastening in the usual way) for effecting its attachment, whereby all confusion as to the direction in which it must be moved will be avoided; also, in fasteners of this class it is common to employ a slot with an enlargement for the insertion of the head of the collar-button but the accidental endwise movement of the fastener with reference to the button often results in the device working along to the button and the latter slipping out through the enlargement. Hence another object of my invention is to so form the slot as to avoid this liability of detachment.

It is also well known that in use the tendency of a necktie is to gradually move up to the top of the collar, thereby making the lower edge orwall of the slot of the fastener bear against the shank of the button, while the upper edge will be free from it. In devices of this class, in which one wall of the slot is provided with notches or recesses for the reception of the shank of the button to prevent the longitudiualmovement of the fastener, it is necessary that the fastener be secured to the tie with the notched wall at the bottom to engage with the shank of the button. Another objection to such device is that when the shank engages with either one of the recesses the longitudinal movement of the band of the tie is prevented, which may interfere with the necessary movements of the garments to accommodate themselves to the varied movements of the wearer.

A further obj ect of my invention, therefore, is to provide a fastener that can be applied to the band either side up and permit a movement of the band and fastener longitudinally within an extended limit; but a permanent stop will be presented toI the accidental removal of the shank of the button from the main portion of the slot until the shank has been forcibly moved out of the slot into,` the enlargement at the end, through which lthe head may pass.

With these ends in View my invention consists in certain features of novelty by which the said objects and certain other objects 'hereinafter appearing are attained,all as fully described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and more particularly pointed out in the claim. p

In the said drawings, Figure l is a view of a necktie, showing the band thereof partly broken away and provided with my improvements; and Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail face view of my improved device, illustrating slight modifications hereinafter described.

I have shown my device in the drawings as applied to the neckband 1 of an ordinary made-up four-in-hand tie; but it will nevertheless be understood that the same may be used to equal advantage on ties'of any other style or form.

The improved fastener consists of a plate or strip 2,which is secured to the inner side of the band l in anysuitable or convenient manner. In Fig. l I have shown the ends of the strip 2 provided with a number of perforations 3,whereby the strip maybe stitched at its ends to the band l, and, if desired, the strip may be also provided at intervals, as at 4. 5, on one or both sides,with additional perforations to hold it flat against the band. This strip 2 is provided with a longitudinal slit or slot 6, one of whose ends terminates in an enlargement 7, which serves as an opening for the introduction of the head 8 of the collar-button, the slot 6 being substantially the same width as the diameter of the shank IOO 9 of the button, so -that after the head 8 has once been inserted through the enlargement 7 the band 1 ofthe tie may be securely fastened to the collar-button and prevented from riding upward on the collar by pulling it endwise until the shank 0 of the button enters the slot G. If desired, the opposite extremity of the slot G may be provided with an enlargement 10, which, however, is of much less diameter than that of the head 8, whereby it will form a seat for the shank 9 without permitting the head 8 to be withdrawn directly through such opening 10.

The plate 2 is preferably constructed of celluloid or some other flexible and preferably resilient or elastic material, so that by making the slot G of a uniform size in all plates the two sides of the plate will be capable of spreading sufficiently to receive the shanks of collar-buttons of various sizes, and the shank ofthe button being thus snugly fitted in the slot 6 the liability of the plate 2 accidcntally slipping lengthwise and permitting the opening 7 and head of the button to come into coincidence, and thus disengage, will be materially reduced. In order, however, that this liability of accidental displacement of the fastener by its movement endwise on the shank of the button may be absolutely avoided, I form one side of the slot G with an offset or curve 11, while the opposite side is provided with a corresponding projection 12, whose edge is preferably formed parallel with the edge of the offset 11, so that the slot 6 from end to end will be a continuous slot sinuous or bent out of alinement, as it were, but having parallel edges. The stop or offset in the slot thus formed is located adjacent to the enlargement 7, and it serves to offer such a great degree of resistance against the shank of the button as to prevent the plate4 2 from being slipped endwise, bringing the head of the button and opening 7 into coincidence without the application of considerable more force than would be applied to the plate or band of the tie when undergoing mere accidental movements.

The enlargement 7 for the introduction of the head of the button being located at the extreme end of the slot G it will be seen that after the button is once inserted the only direction in which the band of the tie can be moved is that which will bring the shank of the button over the projection 12 and into a place of safety in the body of the slot G, the user ordinarily learning to pull on the band until its movement is arrested by the shank reaching the opposite opening 10. In this manner all confusion as to the direction in which the band must be moved to fasten the tie or to unfasten it is absolutely avoided.

The form ofmy invention shown in Fig. 2 dil'lers from that described only in that the plate 2 is provided at its ends and at suitable intervals throughout its length with barbed spurs 13, which are so formed as to be capable of entering the fabric of the tie, but may not be withdrawn, thus adapting the device for ready attachment to the bands of ties already made up and making it useful as an article of sale and manufacture independently of the tie itself.

Having thus described rnyinvention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

As a new article of manufacture, a necktiefastener comprising a plate having a longitudinal parallel-sided slot formed therein, one end of the slot being provided with an enlarged opening, and one wall of the slot adjacent to the opening being provided with a recess and the opposite wall being provided with a stop projecting into the recess, substantially as set forth.

ISAAC II. MALLIN.

Illitnesses:

F. A. HOPKINS, EDNA B. JOHNSON. 

